Clam slicing machine

ABSTRACT

A feed cylinder comprising a plurality of spaced parallel discs providing peripheral slots of a predetermined depth and a plurality of circular cutter blades supported for rotation in the slots. The feed cylinder and cutter blades are supported for rotation on spaced parallel shafts, the shaft supporting the cutter blades being movable relative to the shaft supporting the feed cylinder to permit adjusting the degree of intermesh of the slots and cutter blades. An adjustable stop provides for determining the degree of intermesh and a spring yieldably holds the cutter blades at a predetermined position of adjustment. There are stripper rings loosely mounted on the shaft on which the cutter blades are mounted between the cutter blades which are free to turn relative to the cutter blades for clearing the latter and a guide for controlling displacement of the stripper rings. The edges of the discs constituting the feed cylinder are perpendicular to the side surfaces and the edges of the cutter blades are inclined relative to the side surfaces.

United States Patent [191 Primary Exkzminer-Wi1lie G. Abercrombie Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert T. Gammons Glass Jan. 29 1974 CLAM SLICING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Earl M. Glass, Baldwin, NY. [57] ABSTRACT Assigneel Johnson p y Boston, A feed cylinder comprising a plurality of spaced paral- Mass. lel discs providing peripheral slots of a predetermined [22] Filed; May 24, 1972 depth and a plurality of circular cutter blades supported for rotation in the slots. The feed cylinder and PP N05 256,341 cutter blades are supported for rotation on spaced parallel shafts, the shaft supporting the cutter blades 52 U.S. c1 .L 83/114, 83/409.l, 83/423, being "mvahle l the Shah suppmhhg the feed 83/4253, 83/733 83/41 1 R cylinder to permit adjusting the degree of intermesh of [51 1111.01 B26d 4/04 the Slots and cutter hladesadihstahle P 5 Field f s 83/4091 41 R, 423 425 3 vides for determining the degree of lntermesh and a 83/433 435, 436, 4771, 733, 114 spring yieldably holds the cutter blades at a predetermined position of adjustment. There are stripper rings [56] References Cited loosely mounted on the shaft on which the cutter UNITED STATES PATENTS blades are mounted between the cutter blades which I are free to turn relative to the cutter blades for clear- 2,506,985 5/1950 Amt 83/733 X ing the latter a guide for controlling displacement of the stripper rings. The edges of the discs constitut- 2 545 667 3/1951 Mamas 83 114 x ing the feed cylinder are Perpendicular the Side 213211735 6/1943 Clifford 83/411 R x faces and the edges of the Cutter blades are inclined relative to the side surfaces.

19 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENIEBJANZQIHM SHEET 1 OF 3 Owl PAIENIEU I974 3.788.176

sum 2 OF 3 FIGS CLAM SLICING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION- FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus as seen from the righthand side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a plan view, in much larger scale, with parts Slicing apparatus for various purposes are shown in 5 in section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

such patents as Skliris U.S. Pat. No. 2,084,921; Arnt U.S. Pat. No. 2,506,985; and Spang U.S. Pat. No. 2,318,897. Each of these patents discloses the use of spaced parellel cutter blades operating within grooves in a drum or between spaced parallel discs mounted on a drum together with stripper fingers arranged to strip the material operated on from between the cutter blades. This invention has for its principal purpose to improve upon such structure as shown in the aforesaid patents in such fashion as to provide for greater product yield, to provide for better expulsion of the product from the cutter blades, to provide for cutting and expulsion without damage to the product, to provide for expelling foreign material without damage to the apparatus and/or to the cutter blades and to provide for adjustment of the cutter blades as they are reduced in di-' ameter by sharpening.

SUMMARY As herein illustrated, the slicing apparatus comprises cutting instrumentalities havingintermeshing members supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, said members having flat interengaged side surfaces and circular edge faces, the edge faces of the members of one instrumentality being perpendicular to the side surfaces and the edge faces of the members of the other instrumentality being inclined to the side surfaces. Shafts support the instrumentalities for counterrotation relative to each other. One of the shafts is movable relative to the other such as to enable adjusting the degree of intermesh of said members, an adjustable stop limits the movement of the movable shaft relative to the other shaft, and spring means holds'the movable shaft in operative relation to the adjustable stop. The members on the one shaft are spaced parallel circular feed discs between which there are circular spacers concentric with the feed discs and of smaller diameter such that the I feed discs and the spacers define peripheral grooves of a predetermined radial depth. The edge faces of the feed discs embody means operable to carry the mate- .rial to be operated upon into engagement with the edge inside diameters larger than the spacers between the cutter discs so that they hang freely on the spacers. A guide roll is mounted parallel to the cutter blades at the upwardly moving side thereof for controlling displacement of the stripper rings and for assisting in expulsion of the product. The members on both shafts are removably mounted thereon to permit removal for replacement and/or sharpening.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus;

FIG. is an elevational view diagrammatically showing the parts to larger scale; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the adjustable stop.

Referring to the drawings (FIGS. land 2) the apparatus comprises a supporting frame 10 made up of spaced parallel side walls 12-12 rigidly joined to each other by transversely extending bars 16 to provide an enclosure and support within which there are mounted slicing instrumentalities 20 and 22. The instrumentality 20 comprises a rotor made-up of a hollow arbor 23 (FIG. 4) having a shoulder 36 at one end and threads 37 at its opposite end on which there are mounted in spaced parallel relation a plurality of circular members 26 with circular'spacers 28 therebetween. The members 26 are flat discs and the spacers are integrally formed discs of smaller diameter concentric to the discs 26 and in conjunction with the discs 28 define peripheral slots 30 of a predetermined radial depth between the adjacent members. The side surfaces 32-32 of the members 26 are uniformly parallel and the edge faces 34 are perpendicular to the side surfaces. These members are mounted on the arbor 23 against a shoulder 36 and held thereon by a nut 38 screwed onto the threaded end so that they may be removed in the event of damage and replaced and also for the purpose of sharpening their edges. The arbor 23 is removably mounted on the shaft 24 by a set screw threaded through the shoulder 36 into engagement with the shaft 34. The rotor constitutes a feed drum and to this end the edge faces 34 of the members 26 are provided with scallops 96 (FIG. 5) which are adapted to assist in feeding the material to the instrumentality 22.

The instrumentality 22 comprises a hollow arbor 39 (FIG. 4) having a shoulder 43 at one end and threads 45 at the opposite end on which there are mounted in spaced parallel relation a plurality of circular members '40 with spacers 41 therebetween-the spacers being of much smaller diameter than the members 40. The

members 40 and spacers 41 are mounted on the arbor 39 against the shoulder 43 and removably held thereon by a nut 51 screwed onto the threaded end 45 so that the members 40 may be removed in the event of damage and replaced and also for the purpose of sharpening their edges. Set screws 49 threaded through the shoulder 43 into engagement with the shaft 47 secure the arbor in place. The members 40 are so disposed on the arbor 39 as to have intermeshing engagement with the slots 30 between the discs 26 and are so dimensioned that their side surfaces 44-44 slidingly interengage the side surfaces 32-32 at opposite sides of the grooves 31). The peripheral edges 46 of the members 40 are inclined to the side surfaces. Thus these members function as cutters.

Stripper rings 42 corresponding substantially in outside diameter to the diameters of the members 40 and having inside diameters larger than the spacers 41 are mounted between the cutter members on the spacers so that they hang freely thereon and are free to run relative thereto. The side surfaces 48-48 of the stripper rings slidingly engage the side surfaces .of the cutter members and their edges 46 are adapted to have tangential engagement with the peripheral edges 34 of the discs 26.

The shaft 24 is mounted for rotation in bearings 5050 attached to the side walls l212 in a horizontal position and has mounted on it a double sheave 52. This shaft accordingly is fixed with reference to the housing except that it is free to rotate. The shaft 47 is mounted in bearings 54-54 secured to the lower ends of spaced parallel pendulum-like arms 56-56, the upper ends of which are fixed to a sleeve 57 rotatably supported on a shaft 58, the latter being mounted above the shaft 24 in bearings 60-60 secured to the side walls l2l2. The sleeve 57 is free to turn on the shaft 58 and so the arms 5656 and the shaft 47 supported thereby are free to move arcuately about the axis of the shaft 58. The arcuate movement of the shaft 47 provides for movement of the cutting blades 40 relative to the grooves 30 to increase or decrease the intermeshing engagement of the cutting blades and grooves.

One of the supporting arms 56 has fastened to it a bar 52 (FIG. 3), at the lower end of which there is a hole 64 within which there is engaged a hook member 66. A coiled spring 68 is connected at one end by means of a loop 70 to the hook 66 and at its other end by means ofa loop 72 to the structure so as to pull the supporting arms 5656 in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, into engagement with an adjusting screw 74 (FIG. 6) mounted in a block 76 secured to the side wall 12. The adjustable screw 74 provides a stop which limits the intermeshing engagement of the grooves and cutter blades and provides for adjusting the degree of intermesh. The stripper rings 42 rest, at times, in tangential engagement with the discs 26; however, when the apparatus is running at full speed the centrifugal action developed tends to throw these rings away from the discs 26 and to limit their displacement a guide roller 82 is mounted adjacent the upwardly moving sides of the cutter blades on a shaft 84 fixed at one end to one of the arms 56 (FIG. 2) in spaced parallel relation to the axis of the shaft 47. The guide roller 82 is in the form of a sleeve mounted on the shaft 84 and is free to turn thereon. Collars 8585 at opposite ends of the sleeve hold it onthe shaft.

The cutting instrumentalities and 22 rotate counter to each other, their upper surfaces travelling toward each other as they move into intermeshing engagement so that when the material to be sliced is deposited on the upper surface of the instrumentality 20 it is carried forwardly and downwardly to the cutter blades where it is sliced and where the slices are stripped from the blades by the stripper rings and caused to drop into a suitable receptable 97 placed within the structure below the instrumentalities.

Rotation of the instrumentalities in counter-relation to each other is provided for by a series of double sheaves and driving belts. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the shaft 24 extends through the side wall 12, through a bearing plate 12a mounted outboard of the side wall 12 at the left, as shown in FIG. 2, by means of spacer members 17, which provides support therefor and has on its outer end a double sheave 52. A shaft 90 is rotatably supported in suitable bearings on the side wall 12 and the bearing plate 12a in axial alignment with the shaft 58 and has fixed to it between the side wall and the bearing plate a double sheave 92 and to its outer end a double sheave 86. A stub shaft 87 is mounted on the bearing plate [20 below the shaft 24 and has on it a double idler sheave 88. A double belt 84 entrained about the double sheaves 86, 52 and 88 provides for rotating the shafts 24 and 90. The double sheave 88 provides for adjusting the tension in the drive belt 84. A double belt 94 is entrained about the double sheaves 92 and 78 so that rotation of the double sheave 92 is transmitted to the double sheave 78 and hence to the shaft 47 while permitting freedom of arcuate movement of the shaft 47. An arcuate slot in the wall 12 provides for movement of the shaft 47. A motor M provided with a double sheave 96 supplies the drive for the double belt 84.

The apparatus as thus constructed has the advantage that the blades can be easily and quickly removed for replacement of damaged and/or broken cutter blades and for resharpening, thus reducing the loss of operating time and customer complaint, and that the cutter blades have a longer useful life for as the diameters of the cutter blades are reduced the swing support for the blades permits them to be maintained in operative engagement with the feed members. The swing support also contributes to longer life and less blade breakage since it will permit the cutter blades to yield when hard objects such as shell fragments and/or stones enter between the blades and the feed members and to be ejected without damage. The arrangement of the cutter blades with spacers therebetween and with the stripper rings suspended on the spacers between the blades has the further advantage of maintaining the edges of the blades uniformly spaced when cutting the product, thus providing for maximum yield. Moreover, the.circular movement of the blades is mild and effects cutting without damage to the fragile product. The weight and centrifugal action of the stripper rings is usually adequate to effect product removal; however, this is enhanced by the expeller roller above the upwardly moving sides of the blades which direct the sliced product into a collecting receptacle 97.

I claim:

1. Slicing apparatus comprising cutting instrumentalities having intermeshing members, aid instrumentalities being supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, said intermeshing members having flat intercngaged side surfaces and circular edge faces, the edge faces of the members of one instrumentality being perpendicular to the side surfaces and the edge faces of the members of the other instrumentality being inclined to the side surfaces, shafts supporting the instrumentalities for counter-rotation relative to each other, one of said shafts being movable relative to the other such as to enable adjusting the degree of intermesh of said members, an adjustable stop operable to limit the movement of the movable shaft relative to the other shaft, and spring means holding the movable shaft in operative relation to said adjustable stop.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means for effecting counterrotation of the shafts.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the members on the one shaft comprise feed members and the members on the other shaft comprise cutting members.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means pivotally supporting said one shaft for arcuate movement about said pivot relative to said other shaft, a sheave fixed to said one shaft to effect its rotation, a sheave fixed to the other shaft to effect its rotation, a pair of sheaves rotatable about the axis of said pivot, a drive belt entrained about one of said pair of sheaves and the sheave on said one shaft, a drive belt entrained about the other of said sheaves and the sheave on said other shaft, and, means for driving the latter drive belt.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means on the edge faces of the members comprising the one instrumentality operable to feed material deposited on said edge faces into engagement with the edges of the other instrumentality as the members move into intermeshing engagement.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the edge faces of the members comprising the one instrumentality are scalloped.

7. Apparatus according-to claim 1, comprising means supported between the members comprising said other instrumentality operable to strip material severed by saidmembers therefrom.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising spacers situated between the members comprising the one instrumentality, said spacers being concentric with said members and of smaller diameter, said spacers having side surfaces interengaged with the side surfaces of adjacent members and edge faces situated radially inwardly of the edges of said members.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising spacers situated between the members comprising said other instrumentality and stripper members having side surfaces interengaged with the side surfaces of said members, and edge faces adapted at times to have tangential engagement with the edge faces of the members of the one instrumentality.

10. A slicer comprising cutting instrumentalities supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, one of said instrumentalities comprising a cylindrical rotor having lengthwise thereof a plurality of spaced parallel, radial slots of a predetermined radial depth and the other a plurality of spaced parallel circular blades adapted to operate in said slots, shafts supporting the instrumentalities with the blades interengaged with said slots, with the side surfaces of the blades engaged with the bottoms of the slots, the surfaces of the rotor between slots being perpendicular to the side surfaces and the edge faces of the blades being inclined to the side justable means cooperable with the last-named means to effect adjustment of the intermeshing of the blades with the slots, spring means holding the means supporting the movable shaft engaged with said adjustable means, supported on the shaft on which are mounted the blades, ring members between the blades, said ring members being loosely supported and free to turn relative to said shaft and comprising side surfaces interengaged with the side surfaces of the blades, and edge, surfaces adapted to have tangential engagement with the surface of the rotor between slots, and means situated parallel to the shaft supporting the blades at the upwardly moving sides of the blades for limiting displacement of said ring members.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said cylindrical rotor comprises a feed drum.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10, comprising means on the surfaces of the rotor intermediate the slots operable to move the material deposited-thereon into engagement with the blades.

13. A slicer comprising cutting instrumentalities supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, one of said instrumentalities comprising a shaft, an arbor mounted on said-shaft on which are mounted in spaced parallel relation a plurality of relatively thin feed discs with spacers between them, said spacers being concentric with the feed discs and said feed discs and spacers defining peripheral slots of a predetermined radial depth and the other comprising a shaft, an arbor mounted on said shaft on which are mounted in spaced parallel relation a plurality of cutter discs with spacers between them, and strippers loosely supported on the spacers between the cutter discs with their side surfacesengaged with the side surfaces of the cutter discs and with their edge faces adapted to be tangentiallyengaged with the edges of the feed discs of the one instrumentality, means for effecting rotation of the shafts such that the instrumentalities turn clockwise and counterclockwise relative to each other, means supporting said other shaft for movement relative to the one shaft to enable varying the intermeshing relation of the slots and cutter discs, said strippers comprising rings of larger inside diameter than said spacers which hang from their upper sides on said spacers with their lower sides below the lowersides of the cutter discs, and a guide roll disposed longitudinally of said other shaft for rotation on an axisparallel thereto in a position to limit displacement of thestripper rings relativ to the cutter discs.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, comprising means for supporting said other shaft'for movement relative to the one shaft to enable varying the intermeshing relation of the slots and cutters, adjustable means for controlling the degree of intermesh and spring means for holding the instrumentalities in a predetermined position of intermesh as determined by said adjustable means.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13, comprising arms supported at one end for pivotal movement on an axis parallel to the axis of the one shaft to the other ends of which the other shaft is rotatably mounted for movement relative to the one shaft along an arc.

16. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the strippers are rings having outside diameters corresponding substantially to that of the disc cutters and inside diameters substantially greater than the spacers such that said rings hang on the spacer with their lower portions below the lower side of the cutter discs.

17. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cutter discs and strippers are removably supported on the arbor on which they are mounted to enable removal of the cutter discs for sharpening.

18. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the arbor on which the cutter discs and strippers are mounted has at one end a shoulder and at its other end threads and there is a nut mounted on the threaded end of the arbor for removably mounting the cutters and strippers thereon to enable removing the cutters for sharpening.

19. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the arbor on which the feed discs are mounted has at one end a shoulder and at its other end threads, and there is a nut mounted on the threaded end for removably mounting the discs thereon to enable removing said discs. 

1. Slicing apparatus comprising cutting instrumentalities having intermeshing members, aid instrumentalities being supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, said intermeshing members having flat interengaged side surfaces and circular edge faces, the edge faces of the members of one instrumentality being perpendicular to the side surfaces and the edge faces of the members of the other instrumentality being inclined to the side surfaces, shafts supporting the instrumentalities for counterrotation relative to each other, one of said shafts being movable relative to the other such as to enable adjusting the degree of intermesh of said members, an adjustable stop operable to limit the movement of the movable shaft relative to the other shaft, and spring means holding the movable shaft in operative relation to said adjustable stop.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means for effecting counter-rotation of the shafts.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the members on the one shaft comprise feed members and the members on the other shaft comprise cutting members.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means pivotally supporting said one shaft for arcuate movement about said pivot relative to said other shaft, a sheave fixed to said one shaft to effect its rotation, a sheave fixed to the other shaft to effect its rotation, a pair of sheaves rotatable about the axis of said pivot, a drive belt entrained about one of said pair of sheaves and the sheave on said one shaft, a drive belt entrained about the other of said sheaves and the sheave on said other shaft, and means for driving the latter drive belt.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means on the edge faces of the members comprising the one instrumentality operable to feed material deposited on said edge faces into engagement with the edges of the other instrumentality as the members move into intermeshing engagement.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the edge fAces of the members comprising the one instrumentality are scalloped.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means supported between the members comprising said other instrumentality operable to strip material severed by said members therefrom.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising spacers situated between the members comprising the one instrumentality, said spacers being concentric with said members and of smaller diameter, said spacers having side surfaces interengaged with the side surfaces of adjacent members and edge faces situated radially inwardly of the edges of said members.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising spacers situated between the members comprising said other instrumentality and stripper members having side surfaces interengaged with the side surfaces of said members, and edge faces adapted at times to have tangential engagement with the edge faces of the members of the one instrumentality.
 10. A slicer comprising cutting instrumentalities supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, one of said instrumentalities comprising a cylindrical rotor having lengthwise thereof a plurality of spaced parallel, radial slots of a predetermined radial depth and the other a plurality of spaced parallel circular blades adapted to operate in said slots, shafts supporting the instrumentalities with the blades interengaged with said slots, with the side surfaces of the blades engaged with the bottoms of the slots, the surfaces of the rotor between slots being perpendicular to the side surfaces and the edge faces of the blades being inclined to the side surfaces, means supporting the shaft mounting the blades for movement relative to the shaft mounting the rotor to enable moving the blades within the slots, adjustable means cooperable with the last-named means to effect adjustment of the intermeshing of the blades with the slots, spring means holding the means supporting the movable shaft engaged with said adjustable means, supported on the shaft on which are mounted the blades, ring members between the blades, said ring members being loosely supported and free to turn relative to said shaft and comprising side surfaces interengaged with the side surfaces of the blades, and edge surfaces adapted to have tangential engagement with the surface of the rotor between slots, and means situated parallel to the shaft supporting the blades at the upwardly moving sides of the blades for limiting displacement of said ring members.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said cylindrical rotor comprises a feed drum.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 10, comprising means on the surfaces of the rotor intermediate the slots operable to move the material deposited thereon into engagement with the blades.
 13. A slicer comprising cutting instrumentalities supported for rotation about spaced parallel axes, one of said instrumentalities comprising a shaft, an arbor mounted on said shaft on which are mounted in spaced parallel relation a plurality of relatively thin feed discs with spacers between them, said spacers being concentric with the feed discs and said feed discs and spacers defining peripheral slots of a predetermined radial depth and the other comprising a shaft, an arbor mounted on said shaft on which are mounted in spaced parallel relation a plurality of cutter discs with spacers between them, and strippers loosely supported on the spacers between the cutter discs with their side surfaces engaged with the side surfaces of the cutter discs and with their edge faces adapted to be tangentially engaged with the edges of the feed discs of the one instrumentality, means for effecting rotation of the shafts such that the instrumentalities turn clockwise and counterclockwise relative to each other, means supporting said other shaft for movement relative to the one shaft to enable varying the intermeshing relation of the slots and cutter discs, said strippers comprising rings of larger inside diameter than said spacers which hang from their uppEr sides on said spacers with their lower sides below the lower sides of the cutter discs, and a guide roll disposed longitudinally of said other shaft for rotation on an axis parallel thereto in a position to limit displacement of the stripper rings relative to the cutter discs.
 14. Apparatus according to claim 13, comprising means for supporting said other shaft for movement relative to the one shaft to enable varying the intermeshing relation of the slots and cutters, adjustable means for controlling the degree of intermesh and spring means for holding the instrumentalities in a predetermined position of intermesh as determined by said adjustable means.
 15. Apparatus according to claim 13, comprising arms supported at one end for pivotal movement on an axis parallel to the axis of the one shaft to the other ends of which the other shaft is rotatably mounted for movement relative to the one shaft along an arc.
 16. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the strippers are rings having outside diameters corresponding substantially to that of the disc cutters and inside diameters substantially greater than the spacers such that said rings hang on the spacer with their lower portions below the lower side of the cutter discs.
 17. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cutter discs and strippers are removably supported on the arbor on which they are mounted to enable removal of the cutter discs for sharpening.
 18. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the arbor on which the cutter discs and strippers are mounted has at one end a shoulder and at its other end threads and there is a nut mounted on the threaded end of the arbor for removably mounting the cutters and strippers thereon to enable removing the cutters for sharpening.
 19. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the arbor on which the feed discs are mounted has at one end a shoulder and at its other end threads, and there is a nut mounted on the threaded end for removably mounting the discs thereon to enable removing said discs. 